Does the PGA Tour have a gambling problem?

Each week we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

TV and internet ads and promos for legalized betting dominate sports these days and the PGA Tour’s affiliation with several betting companies is a huge source of revenue. Recently, two Korn Ferry Tour players were suspended by the PGA Tour for gambling, although apparently neither bet on tournaments they were playing in. As legalized gambling continues to expand, it’s possible this is just the tip of the iceberg, and we will see many more player suspensions. Other sports are facing similar problems. How does the Tour control this?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): It strikes me as the height of hypocrisy for sports leagues to embrace the dirty money that gambling organizations offer, then punish players for gambling.  Yes, for sure, players should never be allowed to gamble on competitions they’re involved in (or on the sports they play), but what kind of double standard have the leagues created by embracing the activity in the first place.   The Tour should not allow players to gamble on any golf competition and should suspend any player caught doing so for one year.  They should also forbid any player from publicly endorsing any gambling company or casino.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): This is honestly a joke. We get hit with NAUSEATING betting ads every commercial break or even during play, but players themselves can’t place wagers? Crazy. They do it through family members, I think Rory did so with his dad some time ago (the big wager on winning The Open Championship before he turned 25 or 30)? This is happening whether the athletes place the bet themselves or not. I have no doubt this is going to get far worse (headlines/suspensions “Rose bets on baseball”) before it gets better. I’m sure at some point this will become “normalized” so I’m not sure the Tour can really do much to control this, it will just become accepted at some point.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: Gambling has roots dating back over 5000 years. When done as a form of light entertainment, it is quite a bit of fun. Plus, the bragging rights far outweigh a couple of bucks. However, the Chicago Black Sox scandal, the Pete Rose story, Tim Donaghy points shaving, Paul Hornung and Alex Karras should all teach everyone a lesson. Recently, Phil Mickelson is reported to have spent $M gambling. In Phil’s case, no impropriety has been suggested or implied but what if he hadn’t received a mega pay-day from L1V? What is his real situation? The only good thing that comes from gambling is revenue. Very, very smart people have figured out it isn’t a question of how much you bet; it’s how often you bet. The ‘math’ is in their favour. The ‘math’ also favours someone, somewhere, sometime thinking they are the one who can bet and win. Golf used to be ‘clean’; players called penalties on themselves.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): Personally, I’m not much into the sports gambling, thankfully, although apparently there is a demand given every second ad on tv these days is for sports gambling. I guess I’m of the mind that if a sport is making money off advertising for gambling, then how can they suspend one of their players for gambling, if they aren’t gambling on an event in which they are playing?

Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: Controlling the Tour’s greed and desperation for non-Saudi funds would be a start. Or maybe just an IQ test before handing out cards on any affiliated Tour. Gotta be pretty dang stupid to jeopardize a livelihood over a meal-money bet.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (FairwaysMag): Apparently nobody thinks these things through beforehand. Making it ok for players to tout something legal but not allow them to do it themselves is not only hypocritical but completely naive. According to a few sources I’ve seen, betting is rampant among pro caddies and it’s only a matter of time before some ‘name’ players are implicated in a scandal. The best thing for the Tour is to be completely transparent on suspensions, fines and discipline, instead of burying them in the Ponte Vedra vault like they do with drug issues.

The PGA Tour just announced new playing opportunities for players ranked 126-200 to join the DP World Tour. Given that the Top 10 on the European circuit earn PGA Tour cards for the following season, it’s possible for a lower ranked player to earn his way back to the PGA Tour by playing in Europe for a year. What’s your take on this deal?

Deeks: All good in my opinion.   A year or two in Europe could do wonders for their games and their approach to life in general.

Loughry: It’s interesting, you get relegated to the DP World Tour, but there are more cards handed out by playing the Korn Ferry Tour. So, how I see this playing out: any European player who loses their card and finishes low (closer to 200) might take the DP Tour option. I can’t see any North American based players taking that option. But it’s a strategic partnership, its good for both Tours. It’s the ten cards for DP Tour players that’s a head scratcher for me. That will easily take the ten best players off the DP Tour, which waters down the talent of their fields.

Schurman: These are growing pains for something not well thought through. The entire professional golf world is in chaos and will be until LIV or another entity buys the PGA TOUR and every other tour around the world. Once someone controls everything, order can be restored. Apparently, Jay M has had several approaches from a variety of sources all wanting either to buy or partner with the PGA Tour. He immediately ID’d LIV as evil without hearing their proposal and did a similar thing with the Premier League. Business people have discovered it’s great to be associated with professional golf. Several of them have $$$$Ms. Until a deal is reached, expect other awkward situations.

Rule: Clearly, they are looking to add some more names to the DP World Tour as part of their partnership, and I see this from two sides.  It’s great to give guys who are close another avenue to get back to the PGA Tour, although it does hurt some of the guys looking to get to the DP World Tour from the Challenge Tour and others.  I guess it’s no longer the European Tour, but it seems this is making it harder for Europeans to climb up to the top tour.  I wonder how many in the 126-200 range will want to travel the world as opposed to staying put in the US and trying to go the Korn Ferry route.

Quinn: It just further denigrates the Euro Tour (sorry, the Dubai-based global shipping company’s tour) to a minor-league feeder circuit. It was always thus, but this just shouts out a reminder.

Mumford: This is like one of those so-called benefits you get from your credit card provider. It looks great on paper but it’s not really a benefit if you can’t or don’t use it. The DPT will only let 5 from that 126-200 category into each tournament so there’s not even a guarantee of playing. Some Europeans may avail themselves of the option, but I suspect most Americans will stay home and play the Korn Ferry Tour. They give out 30 cards a year as opposed to the 10 handed out by the DP World Tour.

LIV Golf is holding its “Promotions” event in December in Abu Dhabi. The tournament will include four rounds in three day and the top three finishers will earn a spot on the 48-man LIV roster for 2024. Entry is open to LIV players relegated after 2023, major winners, top amateurs, top finishers from virtually every PGA tour, Ryder Cup members and so on. LIV anticipates a strong field of hopefuls looking to gain entry to the upstart league with its massive paydays. What do you think of this event, and will we see some surprise names entered?

Deeks: Maybe we will, but any non-LIV player who signs up for this sham event will lose my respect completely (as if they care, Jim). This whole thing just smacks of desperation from LIV, in my view.  I’d love to know what DJ and Cam Smith and Brooks Koepka really think about LIV and their decision to abandon the PGA Tour.   Bags of money aside, are they having a good time in exile?

Loughry: I think we’ll see some mediocre names in the field, but no big names. The big names will be recruited/drafted, not asked to qualify. I’ll be interested in checking the field out though.

Schurman: Why not? Once certain players were offered contracts and some took them, others were sure to look at the $$$ and say inwardly, “I can beat him”. The PGA is close to exhausting every resource and concept that increased purses to attract their players. But the Golden Rule will once again prevail; them with the gold, call the rules. Limiting a path back to the PGA TOUR for those who accepted big contracts is only a subject as long as those players are in their prime. Add two or three years to their career performance life expectancy and the entire issue will be moot. The subject of qualifying for Majors could be resolved via the LIV Qualifying tournament as an entry to that Tour and even the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. The surprise will be who doesn’t apply.

Rule: Will players be blacklisted from the PGA Tour if they simply go to the “LIV Q-School”?  I don’t think many will take the risk given there would be no guarantee they would make it to the LIV tour.  Lining players’ pockets with millions in guaranteed money and no risk was an easy decision for those that joined at the beginning, but adding risk into the equation will make it hard for many to take that leap, in my opinion.  Those 3 spots may be the most coveted in golf however, given the payday afforded to the winners.

Quinn: The guys slavering for a promotion will be as well-known as the guys LIV relegated; ie famous among family and friends. No one else cares what happens in that desert next month. By stark comparison, the rigorous three-stage Korn Ferry Q School is legit and populated by incredibly talented young players.

Mumford: Now that Monahan has removed the Saudi taint, more and more players are likely to try to get on a LIV team. The DP World Tour is in decline and the PGA Tour is severely biased towards the Top 50, so for players on the margins, LIV offers a chance at huge money from fewer events. Plus, they all have buddies that cashed in big and none of them burst into flames. Each passing year that LIV is in existence, it will become easier for players to see it as an attractive and realistic option.